With the recent release of The Oakville Community Foundation’s 2018 research the ‘Vital Youth Report: A Tale of Two Childhoods’, The Oakville Community Foundation has identified a unique partnership. They will provide a first place and second place prize to the successful TU20 Cup teams, and the award must be used to work with a local charity to resolve a pressing issue as identified in the Youth Report.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the Oakville Community Foundation and the RBC Foundation,” said Denys Linkov, President of Tech Under Twenty. “We’re grateful to both foundations for their support in the type of work we’re trying to accomplish at Tech Under Twenty.”

The TU20 Cup is a multi-month entrepreneurship competition that focuses on motivating youth to get involved with technology and business. In teams of two to six, students develop solutions to issues related to a yearly theme.

This year teams were challenged to come up with solutions to issues relating to youth in Halton which are laid out in the Watchlist in the Oakville Community Foundation’s 2018 report.

The 30 teams, made up of 120 students, work with a mentor to develop a prototype for their solution as well as a business plan and pitch. They then present their solutions to a team of judges on the final day of competition.

“The TU20 competition is making terrific use of our 2018 Vital Youth Report,” said Wendy Rinella, CEO of the Oakville Community Foundation. “These are real issues that are being faced by youth in our community and this group of students has taken it upon themselves to create solutions. We’re very proud to support this project and give the winning teams the chance to implement their solutions.”

As part of their work, the teams were asked to identify local Halton charities that could benefit from their prototype solutions. A monetary prize is being provided to the first and second place winners which will help the teams implement their solutions with a charity partner.

The first place team will be given a contract with a charity partner valued at $15,000, jointly funded by the Oakville Community Foundation and the RBC Foundation with the funds directed to the charity to implement the winning solution.

An additional contract valued at $7,500 will be provided for the second place team, funded solely by The Oakville Community Foundation.

“RBC is excited to support the work being done by Silicon Halton’s Tech Under Twenty,” said Peter Choma, Vice President, Commercial Financial Services, Halton South for RBC.“ These issues affect so many youth in Halton and it’s inspiring to see the great work for youth being led by youth”

The teams are coming together for one day of competition on Saturday, March 2 at Sheridan College’s Oakville-Trafalgar Campus from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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About Tech Under Twenty Tech Under Twenty (TU20) is a student community focused on technology, entrepreneurship and business. With a project focused approach, we help students understand the future of technology, help them build key skills and connect them with career accelerating opportunities. Since its creation in 2015, TU20 has grown to over 400 members and has an alumni group that has worked at some of the top Canadian and International Companies. TU20 is a key part of the Silicon Halton Community and Halton’s innovation ecosystem.

About the Oakville Community Foundation The Foundation is a registered charity in its 25th year of Building Community Through Philanthropy. The Foundation is a registered charity that has granted $40 million to charities since 1994 and supports investments of over $100 million in charitable assets. We welcome families, businesses and residents into our community and give everyone the opportunity to be a philanthropist. The Foundation is one of the largest members of a national network of more than 190 Canadian community foundations.

About the RBC Foundation Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles- led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 84,000+ employees who bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 16 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 33 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-sustainability.

Chris Herbert is a social entrepreneur. His current ventures are: Silicon Halton, Mi6 Agency and TechIgniters. He's a former squash professional and passionate about helping entrepreneurs, technology companies and professionals achieve success. He's a proud Canadian and plans to make Halton region the greatest place on the planet to live, work and play.